Martial World (Web Novel)
chapter-996

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In the Ancient Phoenix Clan, geniuses could appear even within the common folk. But, it was impossible for someone with a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline to appear within the commoners, because a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline required two parents with extremely rich bloodlines in order for a slight chance of such a child appearing.

Such people were concentrated in the three great family clans and the Ancient Phoenix Clan Headquarters. They could be considered the royal family of the Ancient Phoenix Clan.

And for a genius that appeared amongst the common people, their talent usually lay in comprehension of Laws, training speed, or other such aspects. But in terms of solely bloodline, even the most unrivalled genius of the common people would pale in comparison to the most ordinary disciples of the three great family clans.

The power of bloodline was the very foundation on which the three great family clans existed. That was the reason they had been able to dominate the Ancient Phoenix Clan for so many years. They maintained a strict and harsh marriage system and absolutely prohibited their bloodlines from being diluted.

But this Yan Littlemoon, looking at her last name, didn’t seem to originate from the three great family clans. In the Ancient Phoenix Clan there was indeed a distinguished Yan Family, but they were still far from being able to birth someone with a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline.

Sun Cyprestar never would have imagined that Charming Phoenix Palace actually had a disciple with a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline; this simply defied all logic, because such a person would only appear in the three great family clans. After they appeared, they would surely be kept in the bases of the three great family clans or the Ancient Phoenix Clan Headquarters and be a focus of training. They would not be sent to branch palaces. Sun Cyprestar knew this, that was why he was willing to make this bet. If he knew that Charming Phoenix Palace had such a disciple, he would never have agreed to it.

“Hehe, in life, everything is possible. Normally speaking, if you aren’t a junior of the three great family clans then you’re unlikely to have a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline. But… Littlemoon stumbled upon a lucky chance. As she was exploring a mystic realm, she was sent tumbling into a God Burying Valley by a wild space flow. But not only did she not die, she even found a pond of phoenix blood there and she used that pond to evolve her Ancient Phoenix bloodline into perfection!”

Chu Redcloud smiled as she spoke. She ignored Sun Cyprestar’s increasingly ugly complexion.

Sun Cyprestar felt as if someone had stabbed a dagger into his heart. He already knew that this Chu Redcloud woman was difficult to deal with, and there would be a high chance of losing any bet made with her.

However, Chu Redcloud had suddenly put forth an arctic ice immortal stamen, a temptation that he wasn’t able to refuse. As they said, humans died for wealth and birds died for food. In the face of such an irresistible lure, even a 20,000 year old man like him had to take the risk. Thus, he had fallen into Chu Redcloud’s devious machinations!

Originally, Sun Cyprestar’s greatest hope was Lin Ming. Besides Lin Ming, it was fine if just one of the other junior disciples could place in the top five. But now, when Lin Ming was compared to the perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline of this Yan Littlemoon, it seemed that he was bound to lose. As for the other disciples, they were even less worthy of mentioning! Even if Charming Phoenix Palace had decided to lower their results by 30%, all hope of victory was quickly fading away.

His chances of winning this bet were looking more and more unlikely.

“If you agreed to the bet then you must also accept the loss. Vice Hall Master Sun, you wouldn’t go back on a promise, right?” Chu Redcloud laughed out loud.

But in Sun Cyprestar’s eyes, that laughing face was actually filled with extreme evil and sinister intent. If possible, he really wanted to rush over and strike her to death with a palm.

“Humph! What nonsense are you spouting? I agreed to the best so I must agree to the loss? Chu Redcloud, there are still two years left in the Ancient Phoenix smelting trial, don’t think that you’ve already won!” Sun Cyprestar calmly said.

“Haha! Two years is fine, but I’m afraid that the longer this lasts, the further your Phoenix Cry Palace disciples will be thrown away. Two years from now, Littlemoon should be able to reach the fifth level of the Hells of Flame; she might even have a chance of entering the sixth level, who knows? Amongst your disciples, how many can reach the fourth level? As for the fifth level, I think you’re all done for.”

Chu Redcloud chuckled. Her eyes fell onto Lin Ming, “Apprentice Nephew Lin, what do you think?”

Lin Ming didn’t expect that Chu Redcloud would suddenly point her spear at him. For a time, he was the focus of all attention. Whether it was Phoenix Cry Palace or Charming Phoenix Palace, all disciples looked towards Lin Ming to see what his response would be.

Lin Ming slightly frowned. Chu Redcloud’s words were difficult to answer. Agreeing with her was impossible, but if he disagreed then that would place a tremendous pressure on the disciples of Phoenix Cry Palace. If he couldn’t keep up with his own words later then that would really be disgraceful.

Lin Ming thought for a moment and then said, “Martial Senior Chu, are you saying that you wish for me to agree with you?”

Chu Redcloud’s eyebrows arched upwards. She softly laughed and said, “Apprentice Nephew Lin can certainly disagree with me.”

“This is my first time entering Fire Spirit Star to participate in the Ancient Phoenix smelting trial. I don’t have much of an understanding towards this 18 Hells of Flame so I naturally wouldn’t dare to make outrageous boasts or claims. But, Martial Senior Chu has so generously promised one drop of phoenix heart blood if Elder Sun can win. I, Lin Ming, am of low talent and my bloodline is also very faint; I truly do need a drop of phoenix heart blood to help consolidate my foundation when I cross the seventh stage of Life Destruction. Thus, I thank Martial Senior Chu for the good intentions and shall naturally try my hardest not to disappoint you. Only by desperately risking my life will I have a slight hope of winning. Then, how about this, since Martial Senior Chu is so confident in Junior-apprentice Sister Yan Littlemoon, how about we change the conditions of this bet so that the other disciples are no longer involved and it will only be between me and Junior-apprentice Sister Yan Littlemoon. I also no longer need Charming Phoenix Palace to lower their results by 30%. Whoever places higher shall be the victor; how about that?”

Lin Ming’s words were extremely gentle and polite, but also extremely forceful. His response caused all the surrounding martial artists to suck in a breath of cold air. Facing Chu Redcloud’s trick question, Lin Ming not only answered, but he also put forth a strong counterattack.

Of course, this counterattack was built on the basis that Lin Ming could win!

At the minimum, his results needed to not be too different from Yan Littlemoon’s. Otherwise, if he were beaten into the ground by Yan Littlemoon, then he would draw the ridicule of everyone onto him.

What Lin Ming did was the same as placing all the burden on his shoulders. This caused the disciples of Phoenix Cry Palace to feel relieved, but also to feel worried for Lin Ming.

This was a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline!

Just from looking at the results within the 18 Hells of Flame so far, Lin Ming was clearly inferior to Yan Littlemoon. Since he put forth such a change in the betting rules, could he really do anything?

It was not wrong that Lin Ming’s progression was frighteningly fast, but how could Yan Littlemoon, with her perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline, be slow? Two years from now, Lin Ming might not have overtaken her, but instead have fallen further behind!

All of the Phoenix Cry Palace disciples were nervous for Lin Ming, and each of them had different thoughts on the situation. Zhou Fei opened his mouth several times as if he wanted to say something, but he eventually didn’t. Lin Ming’s words were the same as removing him from the bet. If this was before, then Zhou Fei might have been the first one to jump out and object. However, when he saw Yan Littlemoon’s terrifying talent on full display just now, even his proud and arrogant heart had come under heavy attack. After arriving at the second level of the Hells of Flame, he couldn’t go much further. If someone told him to be boastful and challenge Yan Littlemoon, he absolutely would not have the courage to do so. Without any valiant intrepidness left in his heart, all he could do was shut up and not argue. Zhou Fei grit his teeth and glanced over at Huo Yanguang. He saw that Huo Yanguang was actually calm, without any intentions of opposing.

Lin Ming didn’t wait for Chu Redcloud to respond. He first looked at Sun Cyprestar. This bet was made by Sun Cyprestar. If he wanted to change the rules of the bet, he first had to obtain the approval of Sun Cyprestar.

Sun Cyprestar deeply looked at Lin Ming and then slowly nodded.

In fact, if Lin Ming lost to Yan Littlemoon, then if Huo Yanguang managed to advance into the top five, they would still only occupy two spots. Even if Charming Phoenix Palace lowered their results by 30%, there still wasn’t any hope of victory. Thus, whether Lin Ming could win or not was already the key of this bet. Lin Ming changing the rules of the bet didn’t increase the chances of Sun Cyprestar winning. In fact, there would be even less random variables added in. Lin Ming would only need to worry about his own strength and not about others’.

This was a choice originating from absolute self-confidence.

“Hahahaha!” Chu Redcloud’s clear laughter echoed through the world. “Heroes have always come from the young. When I was still at Charming Phoenix Palace I had already heard great tales of Apprentice Nephew Lin’s bravado and daring. But now that I see you today, your boldness is truly extraordinary. Good, since you have proposed this change, I will agree. Moreover, I will also increase the stakes. If Apprentice Nephew Lin can win, then not only will I give up the drop of phoenix heart blood and the arctic ice immortal stamen, but how about I also gift you a pair of utterly exquisite women?”

Chu Redcloud’s words caused a strange expression to appear on Lin Ming’s face. And on the side of Phoenix Cry Palace, many junior disciples were surprised at Chu Redcloud’s words before revealing looks thick with envy and desire. The so-called utterly exquisite women were clearly disciples of Charming Phoenix Palace, and they would also be a pair!

Within the three branch palaces of Atlas World, whether it was Phoenix Cry Palace or Praying Phoenix Palace, the male disciples of both palaces coveted and would be proud to marry a disciple from Charming Phoenix Palace. Moreover, there would be two of them!

Of course, being envious was useless. If they wished to enjoy the happiness of two such wives, they would need the strength to back up their thoughts.

As for the female disciples of Charming Phoenix Palace, they were stunned at first before all of them reacted differently. Most of the senior disciples tenderly smiled, a meaningful and amiable look on their faces. But as for the junior disciples, most of them blushed a deep crimson. These young women hadn’t yet experienced any romantic feelings towards other men yet. Now that this matter was suddenly brought up, they were naturally shy and embarrassed.

In fact, with Lin Ming’s talent and his handsome looks, he was truly an ideal candidate for a husband.

At this time, Sun Cyprestar sneered. He said, “Chu Redcloud, your wishful thoughts are planned out quite well. If Lin Ming can win, then that proves his talent surpasses that of Yan Littlemoon. For him to not possess a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline but to have a talent that surpasses it, that would truly be incredible. That is because one can obtain a perfect Ancient Phoenix bloodline as long as they pay a great enough price! But for all other aspects of talent, they are mostly set. It is highly difficult to enhance any of them.

“In that way, Lin Ming will likely become a character on the level of a Palace Master. You plan to randomly throw out two girls from the Chu Family and not only climb up using this relationship, but all talented disciples that stem from those girls in the future will also be children of the Chu Family! Lin Ming would also become the son-in-law of your Chu Family. No matter how one looks at it, you will profit no matter what happens. Chu Redcloud, you really are a wolf that can never stop eating meat. No matter what the situation is, the one to eat a loss will never be you.”

After her plans were revealed by Sun Cyprestar, Chu Redcloud wasn’t embarrassed at all. Instead, she brightly smiled and said, “What do you mean I’ll randomly throw out two girls? I already have two girls in mind, and they are beautiful twin sisters that have both first class looks and talent. If they take care of Lin Ming together, that will absolutely not be disgraceful to him. Others could never search for such a good deed even if they tried. Moreover, I never said that Lin Ming wouldn’t be able to take concubines in the future. What sort of hot-blooded man would refuse such conditions? What do you say, Apprentice Nephew Lin?”

Chu Redcloud revealed a meaningful smile, a happy teasing light in her eyes as she looked at Lin Ming. Even Lin Ming was a bit embarrassed by this situation and he didn’t speak at all. But then, Sun Cyprestar scoffed. “What beautiful twin sisters? If you really have the gall then just marry Yan Littlemoon to Lin Ming! If you want to bet then bet Yan Littlemoon!”